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The hotel is quiet when we arrive. This time I don’t ask. I wordlessly walk her to her room.
Her steps slow as we walk along the side of the pool. The pool deck is actually a collection of three pools, one larger and two smaller, each of them lit up, the water lapping quietly beneath a square of dark, starry sky. Steam curls off the hot tub in lazy, meandering question marks. For the hundredth time tonight, my tie feels too damn tight.
I nearly jump out of my skin when Nora puts a hand on my shoulder and bends down to take off her heels. “These things are murder.”
“They look it.” I hold out my hand, either for hers or for a shoe, but she gives me neither. Instead she takes off the shoes, hooking the heels over her fingers, and lets out a sigh that can only be described as orgasmic.
My dick perks right up. Thank God it’s dark.
“Better?”
“Much.” She’s facing me now, more than a head shorter without her shoes. The space between us is thrumming now, her gaze raking over my face, and my body ignites at the thought of her actually making a move.
Do it, I silently beg her. I dare you.
Instead, she rises onto the balls of her feet and wraps her arms around my neck in a hug. It’s not a particularly inviting hug—she’s careful not to press her body against mine—but it still makes my blood rush to places it shouldn’t.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, her breath a warm whisper on the skin above my collar. “I’m proud of us.”
This feels good.
This is bad.
So freaking bad for everything I’ve worked for. Everything I want.
But right now, all I can think about is how much I want her. So I carefully wrap my arms around her waist and give her a quick but firm squeeze.
“I am too.”
Her body melts into mine—Jesus fuck—and for a second I worry she can feel how hard my heart is pounding. How hard my dick is. It’s a dead giveaway.
Her arms stay wrapped around my neck, her shoes dangling against my nape, but she pulls her head back to look at me.
Her eyes go right to my mouth.
Fuck fuck fuck.
“You were wrong,” she says. Her voice is different.
So is mine when I say, “About what?”
“You said you weren’t a hero. But I think deep down”—one of her hands slides to the center of my chest, and she taps a finger against my breastbone— “you are.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
“Too late.”
“How are you still so optimistic after working in this business for so long?”
“Because every once in a while, I’ll stumble across something—someone—who surprises me.” She searches my eyes. “That thrill never gets old.”
“I’m a thrill?” I tease.
“You are when you’re not being an asshole. Why aren’t you him more often? The guy you were tonight. And last night. And on the plane.”
“Because, Nora, that guy doesn’t belong in this world.” Her name just slips out. Feels stupid to call her Frasier right now. Feels bullshitty, ridiculous even.
Her throat bobs as she swallows. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t call me that if you’re still going to play the bad guy. I don’t exactly belong in this world either, but I’ve managed to cut a path for myself. You can too.”
I should let her go, but I can’t, I can’t, I can’t not drink it in, the relief that comes with having an honest conversation. The terrifying rush that comes with being seen. The understanding—the desire—that pools between one outsider and another.
“Christ,” I manage.
“What?”
“You’re a wonder.”
“A wonder?”
“A wonder. Look, I don’t know how the rest of this whole work thing is going to go down. I can’t make any promises. Well, except one. I promise to help you fix the fucked-up place where we work any way that I can. Maybe then we won’t have to try so hard to be people we’re not.”
Her brows curl upward. “Theo—”
“I also promise to only call you Nora when I’m being a hero.”
“That’s two promises.” She grins.
I grin too. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” she says softly, grin fading. “Nothing at all.”
A beat of charged silence settles between us. My heart throbs in my chest as she looks at me and I look at her and we both see what’s written on each other’s faces.
She’s the one to lean in first.
Pulse scattering, I take her face in my hand and use my thumb to wipe the lipstick off her mouth. Sparks erupt in her eyes. Blood gathers between my legs.
You, I silently tell her as I press my lips to hers. You’re the hero.
The one who’s brave enough to show me who she really is, and what she really wants.
Chapter Fifteen
Nora
I knew kissing Theo was a terrible idea before it happened. But now that our lips are actually touching, I’m realizing just how hard I could fall for him if I’m not careful.
